New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Thursday that she called on President Donald Trump, as a New Yorker, to save the congestion pricing plan she's fighting to implement in his hometown.
Hochul made her appeal on Friday when she met with Trump for more than an hour in an effort to convince him to get behind the new system.
While recalling her conversation with Trump on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Hochul also mentioned a letter from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in which he cited his concerns about the program.
"I said, 'Mr. President, you're a New Yorker.' First of all, the most offensive thing I found in the letter … was citing New Jersey, saying they don't like this program," Hochul said Thursday. "I said, 'Mr. President, we're both New Yorkers. Why do we care what New Jersey thinks?'"
Since it was introduced last month, the congestion pricing plan — which charges drivers a $9 fee for entering certain parts of Manhattan — has been credited with reducing traffic in the city.
Hochul said she reminded Trump of his ties to New York and pointed to congestion pricing as a "model" for reducing traffic while increasing revenue and "dramatically" improving the quality of life "for everyone who lives in this district."
"I'm trying to find a common ground here," Hochul said. "I want him to understand that this is a city that he cares about, and he understands it more than any president since FDR … He's got property here. He understands. We want to make sure that the city keeps moving."
"So I was just trying to appeal to him as a New Yorker, and say, 'This is good for New York,'" Hochul said.
Hochul's meeting with Trump came two days after the president's administration halted the toll system, and he declared victory on social media.
"CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Wednesday. "Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!"
The pricing plan remains in effect as a legal challenge unfolds, but the Department of Transportation has set a March 21 deadline for the city to end it.
In her interview with "Morning Joe," Hochul said she would continue to fight for the congestion pricing program.
"It has had a profound impact on the lives of New Yorkers," she said. "We have to fight to keep it going, and that's why I've taken it to the courts, and I'll take it wherever I can."
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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